Phone strike to affect local hospital today

Phone calls made by the public to switchboards at Tullamore hospital and to all direct line emergency services will still be answered today (Friday) despite the intensification of industrial action. IMPACT has agreed to grant derogations for switchboards and for all direct line emergency services such as Emergency Departments. The union has also agreed to direct their members to screen calls related to critical services on an hourly basis to establish whether a direct action is required. The HSE met with IMPACT to seek clarification on the industrial action. "The HSE sought derogations from the union to ensure that disruption to health services was minimised and that patient safety was not compromised during the industrial action," said a statement. The HSE would like to advise patients and clients that they may experience difficulty in making contact with HSE services as the action is underway. IMPACT has confirmed that action will take place from 9am until 1pm today (Friday) in tullamore, Portlaoise and Mullingar hospitals, as well as voluntary hospitals. The action will continue and that generally less than 24 hours notice of disruption to services will be given.